194 



SYSTEMS OF CONSANGUINITY AND AFFINITY 



in the system of the Algonkin nations. It likewise follows, as a further inference 

 that the Minnitaree, Crow, Mandan, Winnebagoe and Missouri nations may have 

 been derived mediately or immediately from a single nation ; that the Gulf and 

 Prairie nations may each have been derived from a single nation ; and that the 

 three original nations may have sprung from a common stem-people still further 

 back. In this manner the evidence from special features contained in the system 

 is reconciled with the evidence from identity of vocables in the dialects first-named ; 

 leaving it probable that the Minnitarees and Crows form the nearest connecting 

 link between the nations of the Gulf, and those upon the Missouri. 



In this connection, attention may be directed to the dialects thus far named, 

 taken collectively, as they appear in the Table. The people are classified together 

 as belonging to the Dakotan stem. There is such a thing in the Ganowanian 

 dialects as contrast and similarity in vocables ; as excessive deviation and family 

 resemblance; and as ancient and modern separation of stock languages. It can be 

 detected and traced long after the vocables themselves have lost their identity. 

 From first to last, among the great branches thus far considered, the terms of rela- 

 tionship have a family cast ; a tendency, so to express it, to reveal their identity, 

 although deeply concealed ; a certain similarity of aspect which arrests attention 

 while it baffles the scrutiny thereby invited. On the other hand, the same terms 

 in the Algonkin dialects, when compared, are in sharp contrast. They wear an 

 unfamiliar appearance, expressive of long-continued separation. The change has 

 become so excessive as to repel the supposition of their identity within a compara- 

 tively modern period, or that they could have been spoken in the same household 

 for many ages. The following terms will illustrate the similarity to which reference 

 has been made: 



